scandinavians

[walle]

For instance, don't Swedes tend to use headsets to talk on their cell phones to avoid EMF exposure?

Many do, yes. On that note; talking in a mobile phone for two minutes will disturb your brain frequency for about two weeks (no joke, I assure you). I guess that you all can do the maths on that one, kind of disturbing figures really. Unfortunately, certain elements in our society don’t give a toss…money rules eh. Not to mention all the damn 3G masts (roughly 18000 of them in a country that is of the size of California) the radiation they emit is immense, but again; no “oneâ€

[peteamer]

The map jaganath linked to is derived from this non flashy one.

My memory and this 1.7MB pdf of world countries and time zones say that Russia is in both Europe and Asia.

Forgive me for quoting wiki but:

Russia is the largest country of the world in area. It lies partly in eastern Europe and partly in northern Asia.

And as we all know, if it's' in the wiki it must be true.....



Have to say, I didn't realise Russia spanned 10 time zones


Pete

[floffe]

Russia is geographically clearly part of both Europe and Asia, with the border drawn at the Ural mountains, over 1000km east of Moscow.

[HueyCobra]

Eurasia sounds right, even if it's not specifically accurate.

[walle]

Russia is geographically clearly part of both Europe and Asia, with the border drawn at the Ural mountains, over 1000km east of Moscow.

I stand corrected floffe, I was a bit fast on this one, forgetting about the Ural mountains that do separate Europe from Asia, well; on the map that is. Regardless of that, I do still view Russia as a part of Asia and not Europe, despite that "agreed" line drawn by the Ural mountains.

[Tephras]

as far as continents are concerned, Russia is clearly a part of Asia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cont ... models.gif

neither politically, socially or geographically can one consider Russia "a part of Europe". they are apart from Europe.

As far as wikipedia-images are concerned, I have more than you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LocationEurope.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BlankMap-Europe.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Euro ... ntries.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Euro ... h_2006.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Euro ... ntries.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Loca ... egions.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Europe_gdp_map.png

Russia is geographically clearly part of both Europe and Asia

Yes, it is a transcontinental country with it's largest area in Asia, even so, the area of the Russian territory that's geographically located in Europe are larger than any of the other European countries.

[andyb]

Well, not being a scandinavian, but reading everyones responces, it seems like the following are true:

a, Scandinavians have the best "Read" english in the world of people who dont speak (read) English as their first language.

b, Their noise levels are generally lower, this also applies to most of the world who live in rural areas, and have their windows closed so the dont hear animal noises from outside.

c, Their internet usage is higher than other countries.

Undecided / lack of proof.

d, They appear to take more care of of themselves, such as stopping annoying noises to preserve their sanity.

e, They have better hearing.

f, They like to help other people, and/or like asking people questions on forums.

Does this seem like a fair summary.???


Andy

[klankymen]

yeah, the part about language is definitely true. I live in Germany and the people here speak English alright, but not near as good as Scandinavians. The Dutch are also generally better at English than us germans. However the French are much worse, not to mention the italians, who seem to think their 2.75th world culture is superior to globalised northern European and north American culture and thus completely refuse to learn any other languages such as English. Similar with spaniards I think, though I have less experience with the spaniards - though they do definitely have worse English skills on average than northerners. Ymmv

Ps: please excuse any mistakes in this post, it was composed using an iPod touch in a hotel room after 2 beers.

[aristide1]

They have better hearing.

Looks like I was born in the wrong country.

Scandinavian women <------> hotties.

[jaganath]

as far as continents are concerned, Russia is clearly a part of Asia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cont ... models.gif

neither politically, socially or geographically can one consider Russia "a part of Europe". they are apart from Europe.

As far as wikipedia-images are concerned, I have more than you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LocationEurope.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BlankMap-Europe.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Euro ... ntries.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Euro ... h_2006.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Euro ... ntries.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Loca ... egions.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Europe_gdp_map.png

Russia is geographically clearly part of both Europe and Asia

Yes, it is a transcontinental country with it's largest area in Asia, even so, the area of the Russian territory that's geographically located in Europe are larger than any of the other European countries.

deluded. you may as well argue Alaska is a part of Europe; after all they two countries are only a few miles apart at the nearest point.

[lm]

Russia is a part of Europe.

as far as continents are concerned, Russia is clearly a part of Asia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cont ... models.gif

neither politically, socially or geographically can one consider Russia "a part of Europe". they are apart from Europe.

Your own link clearly shows, that a large part of Russia is inside Europe, and even larger (by area) part is in Asia.

So it's partially in both, geographically.

There's no such thing as "politically in Europe". It's clearly not in the EU.

Socially, they have their own culture that is different from european.

[lm]

c, Their internet usage is higher than other countries.

Undecided / lack of proof.

Well, we (finns) are starting to lose our place in meters that measure level of technology by things like number of physical phone lines and modems, as we have less and less of those anymore, now that everybody have cellphones and most people can get ADSL or better.

The swedish even have gigabit connections available by bredbandsbolaget (office of broadband, freely translated) which is subsidised by government.

I'm fairly certain that we have a lot better internet connectivity than for example USA on the average.

[peteamer]

you may as well argue Alaska is a part of Europe; after all they two countries are only a few miles apart at the nearest point.

Alaska at it's western end is indeed very close to the Russian eastern end, it's only about 50miles.
However that eastern point of Russia (The most Easterly point of Asia) is approx 3000miles to the east of Europe via land... and even further if you go over Canada and then the Atlantic.


Pete

[gforcefan]

I am American with some Finnish ancestry.

I figure the Finns like silent computing because they talk so little they can hear all the other noise around them. My (Finnish) Grandmother use to say that Finns speak English so well because Finnish is too hard!

For a wedding anniversary one of these years, the wife and I want to get to Helsinki.

[Trip]

It's because MikeC advertises in Scandinavia.

[Kaleid]

We have high standards here...

Actually there was a study that said so recently, as consumers we Swedes are very demanding...

[aristide1]

We have high standards here...

Actually there was a study that said so recently, as consumers we Swedes are very demanding...

In other words a WalMart would last about 10 minutes in your country. Here they thrive.

[aristide1]

For instance, don't Swedes tend to use headsets to talk on their cell phones to avoid EMF exposure?

Many do, yes. On that note; talking in a mobile phone for two minutes will disturb your brain frequency for about two weeks (no joke, I assure you). I guess that you all can do the maths on that one, kind of disturbing figures really. Unfortunately, certain elements in our society don’t give a toss…money rules eh. Not to mention all the damn 3G masts (roughly 18000 of them in a country that is of the size of California) the radiation they emit is immense, but again; no “oneâ€

[Greg F.]

Anyone who has read any Russian history would know that Russia has this big "chip on their shoulder" about not being considered European. They have always wanted to be culturally identified with Europe and not Asia.
Now, of course, I might be wrong about this.

[Redzo]

neither politically, socially or geographically can one consider Russia "a part of Europe". they are apart from Europe.

Hm, that can be said about UK as well.

[jaganath]

neither politically, socially or geographically can one consider Russia "a part of Europe". they are apart from Europe.

Hm, that can be said about UK as well.

not really. OK, we have a lot of opt-outs from various European treaties, and we don't use the euro, but we have the same attributes as all the other EU countries: rule of law, secular state, democratic, joint energy and defence policy, etc. Also historically we were part of the Roman Empire, which established trade and cultural links which have endured to the present day.

[nick705]

not really. OK, we have a lot of opt-outs from various European treaties, and we don't use the euro, but we have the same attributes as all the other EU countries: rule of law, secular state, democratic, joint energy and defence policy, etc. Also historically we were part of the Roman Empire, which established trade and cultural links which have endured to the present day.

Russia has those things as well - maybe still in a rough'n'ready state by our standards, but it wasn't so long ago that Spain and Greece were dictatorships, and even then no-one would have seriously suggested they weren't part of Europe on that basis. Then there's the other Slavic-speaking countries of Eastern Europe, until recently under the Soviet sphere of influence - why are they "part of Europe" if Russia isn't, particularly when the borders have moved backwards and forwards hundreds of miles depending on who was in charge at the time?

If you're going to use the Roman Empire as a basis for deciding what can be officially part of Europe, I guess that's bad news for the haggis-eaters north of Hadrian's Wall (or maybe good news depending on your POV).

As for geography, there's no meaningful distinction between Europe and Asia anyway - they are a single continental landmass occupying a single tectonic plate, and the only distinction is a political one. The Ural Mountains tend to be used as a convenient cut-off point (which obviously places a large chunk of Russia including Moscow and St Petersburg squarely in Europe), but it's a completely arbitrary definition from a geological point of view.

[andyb]

Some people and organisations even class Israel a part of Europe (Eurovision "I want to slit my own throat" Song Contest), that is as political as it gets.


Andy

[jaganath]

rule of law, secular state, democratic

Russia has those things as well

oh really???? appropriating oil and gas assets, extra-judicial killings, that is your idea of rule of law!!!!

[nick705]

oh really???? appropriating oil and gas assets, extra-judicial killings, that is your idea of rule of law!!!!

No, of course not, but you're not seriously suggesting our own government would never dream of subverting the rule of law to suit its own purposes? If not, does that debar us from being considered European?

In any case, how does the behaviour of the Russian government make a typical inhabitant of, say, St Petersburg, culturally, genetically or geographically closer to Asia than to Europe?

[aristide1]

rule of law, secular state, democratic

Russia has those things as well

oh really???? appropriating oil and gas assets, extra-judicial killings, that is your idea of rule of law!!!!

Well replace gas and oil with cement and garbage, and perhaps we're talking about American organized crime.

[Tephras]

Some people and organisations even class Israel a part of Europe (Eurovision "I want to slit my own throat" Song Contest), that is as political as it gets.


Andy

Active members of the European Broadcasting Union can participate in ESC, that's why Israel (and Lebanon, Libya, Egypt and other states) can do so and also why Liechtenstein can not (they can not be an active member of the EBU since they have no national broadcaster).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision ... ticipation


However, Israels membership in, for instance, the EAA and, in consequence, their participation in the European Athletics Championships are a mystery.

[Redzo]

Some people and organisations even class Israel a part of Europe (Eurovision "I want to slit my own throat" Song Contest), that is as political as it gets.


Andy

However, Israels membership in, for instance, the EAA and, in consequence, their participation in the European Athletics Championships are a mystery.

It's not. It's politics. Israel should not be allowed to participate in ANY european contest becouse they are NOT part of europe or have anything in common with europeans. Yes they look like us but so does ppl in New Zealand and we don't see them in there....

[Redzo]

Russia is geographically clearly part of both Europe and Asia, with the border drawn at the Ural mountains, over 1000km east of Moscow.

I stand corrected floffe, I was a bit fast on this one, forgetting about the Ural mountains that do separate Europe from Asia, well; on the map that is. Regardless of that, I do still view Russia as a part of Asia and not Europe, despite that "agreed" line drawn by the Ural mountains.

Russia is more europe than Sweden. I know, I live in Sweden. And trust me sweeds have very little to do with rest of continental europe. Their culture, their obsesion with alcohol and so on have very little to do with rest of europe.

[joe79]

Hi guys,
first posting of this newbie and right in the Off-Topic area.
One of the reasons for having only few people from Germany and Austria on this board could be our website silenthardware .de which is a very nice and active Silencer-Board from Germany. It is easier for us to talk about computers in mothertongue of course so we only monitor the news from SPCR and other boards while maintaining our own board (currently more then 6000 members and 360,000 postings).

But as I am in the USA now I will start reading here more and more I guess and maybe bring in the knowledge we biult up over the years in Europe. May be we have some stuff that you have not been aware of or the other way round? Time will tell.

Best regards from Chicago,
Joe